It was billed as "the greatest story ever told".
And that was no idle boast.
Liverpool The Musical at the ECHO Arena last night was simply magnificent and hats off to all involved.
At its heart was a tour de force performance by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra which played - conducted with brio by Vasily Petrenko - almost continuously throughout the entire 100-minute extravaganza.
I can't praise them highly enough - sitting stacked seven storeys high on a Jailhouse Rock-style scaffolding affair with a transparent "scrim" in front acting as a giant screen - they were brilliant.
In fact, the whole evening was memorable and for anyone who wasn't lucky enough to get a ticket, it can be seen as part of a 45-minute highlights show on BBC2 at 10.45 tonight.
From the opening strains of Rule Britannia to the closing Lennon anthem Power to the People, Liverpool put on a show to be really very proud of.
And following the People's Opening on Friday where about 50,000 people came out to be part of it, it was really quite a weekend.
Roll on the next 353 days of 2008.
